Hundreds of people rallied to raise thousands of dollars for a Georgia college-age Chick-fil-A employee after a viral social media post showed she received the lowest scholarship award from the fast food chain among several of her coworkers.
The Facebook post that went viral shows photos of young adult staff members at a Chick-fil-A in Vidalia, Georgia, who are being awarded money from the fast food corporation’s Remarkable Futures Scholarship Fund.
Several staffers were pictured with $2,500 checks in scholarship money, but J’Da Bacon was the only staff member seen with a $1,000 check.
The post stirred outrage and controversy online from many who believed that racial discrimination was a factor in why Bacon received the smallest amount, since she was the only Black staff member pictured receiving $1,000. Others speculated that perhaps Bacon did not fulfill all the requirements to receive more money or only applied for the $1,000 scholarship.
Chick-fil-A’s website lists each of the tiers for its scholarships as well as the eligibility criteria that employees must meet to be considered for an award.
The $2,500 and $1,000 scholarship tiers have the same requirements.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Chick-fil-A for comment.
A company spokesperson did not have details on Bacon’s application or why she only received $1,000, but told Atlanta Black Star that four other white Vidalia staff members who weren’t photographed at the restaurant’s award ceremony also received $1,000 scholarships. Two of those college students had already returned to school by the time the ceremony took place, and the two others weren’t photographed for religious reasons.
One person who claimed to be related to the family posted a comment that received over 3,000 likes and included Bacon’s Cash App account.
“Why she only got $1,000? FIX THIS IMMEDIATELY My Lil sister put in too much work in school & work for this BS ✅😤 I’m pretty sure she grateful but nah thats wrong UPDATE: $Jdapooh is her Cash app,”
Bacon’s mother, Sharrelle Delegal, also started a GoFundMe to raise funds to help her daughter complete her undergraduate studies at the University of West Georgia.
Delegal wrote about the online controversy and thanked people for the support her family received in the days since Bacon received her Chick-fil-A scholarship money.
“Recently, her scholarship award photos were shared online and created a stir. Although we did initially question the award amount, we were extremely grateful for having been considered!” Delegal wrote on the GoFundMe page. “J’Da continues to be a faithful and committed employee of Chick-fil-A and will always support their outreach efforts, community initiatives, and future opportunities for partnership.”
Delegal’s fundraiser exceeded its $25,000 goal.
Atlanta Black Star also reached out to Delegal about the Chick-fil-A award, but she declined to comment.
In the days since the Facebook post went viral, many people have shared photos of Chick-fil-A’s other recent Black scholarship recipients, some of whom received $25,000 in award money. One person called for restraint in light of the outrage.
“This post is circulating about Chick-Fil-A scholarship winners and I’m going to put that post in the comments but I really wish yall would look into things before you’re outraged. The other post circulating shows a few scholarship winners and shows how the one Blk employee got $1000 while the few other Yt and Hispanic employees got $2500 and people are in an uproar. As if these those were the only scholarship winners… so here you go, blk scholarship winners of 25,000 not the 2,500 u were upset about. Also some information on their scholarship program and just wanted to throw in there that they still support DEI initiatives. ❤️ There are plenty things to be outraged about but I’m not sure this is it.”
The company spokesperson told us that Chick-fil-A distributed $27 million in scholarship funds from its Remarkable Futures Program in 2025 — the largest education investment to date for the chain.
More than 15,000 team members at various restaurant locations received $1,000 and $2,500 scholarships, and a total of 13 team members received $25,000.
